Bill Text: GA HB1133 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Restoration of licenses; certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs; modify provisions

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-24 - House Second Readers [HB1133 Detail]

Download: Georgia-2011-HB1133-Introduced.html

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12 LC 35 2599

House Bill 1133

By: Representatives Rice of the 51st and Powell of the 29th

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT

To amend Article 4 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to restoration of licenses to persons completing defensive driving course or alcohol or drug program, so as to require certified driver improvement programs for purposes of completing certain probation requirements; to modify provisions relating to certified DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:

SECTION 1.

Article 4 of Chapter 5 of Title 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to restoration of licenses to persons completing defensive driving course or alcohol or drug program, is amended by revising subsections (a) and (e) of Code Section 40-5-83, relating to establishment and approval of driver improvement clinics, as follows:

"(a)(1) The commissioner shall establish criteria for the approval of driver improvement clinics. To be approved, a clinic shall provide and operate a defensive driving course. Clinics shall be composed of uniform education and training programs consisting of six hours of instruction designed for the rehabilitation of problem drivers. The commissioner shall establish standards and requirements concerning the contents of courses, qualifications of instructors, attendance requirements for students, and examinations. Approved clinics shall charge a fee of $75.00 $95.00 for a defensive driving course, except that such clinics may charge different fees of their own choosing if the person is not enrolling in such course pursuant to court order or department requirement. No clinic shall be approved unless such clinic agrees in writing to allow the examination and audit of the books, records, and financial statements of such clinic. Clinics may be operated by any individual, partnership, or corporation. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to affect in any way driving programs established for purposes of insurance premium reductions under the provisions of Code Section 33-9-42.

(1.1)(A) No driver improvement clinic shall be permitted to use, adopt, or conduct any business under any name that is like or deceptively similar to any name used by any other driver improvement clinic, Georgia company, or Georgia corporation registered with the Secretary of State. This subparagraph shall not prohibit the franchising or licensing of any part or all of the name of a driver improvement clinic by the owner or the rights thereof to another licensed driver improvement clinic.

(B) This paragraph shall not prohibit the franchising or licensing of any part or all of the name of a clinic by the owner of the rights therein to another licensed driver improvement clinic.

(2) The commissioner may issue a special license to the instructor of any commercial licensed driver training school authorizing such instructor to teach a defensive driving course, advanced defensive driving course, or professional defensive driving course of a driver improvement clinic provided pursuant to this Code section if such instructor is qualified to teach a teen-age driver education course which consists of a minimum of 30 hours of classroom and six hours of behind-the-wheel training and such instructor certifies to the commissioner that he or she has provided at least 250 hours of behind-the-wheel training in a teen-age driver education course."

"(e) The department is designated as the agency responsible for establishing criteria for the approval of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs. An applicant shall meet the certification criteria promulgated by the department through its standards and shall provide the following services: (1) the assessment component and (2) the intervention component. The department is designated as the agency responsible for establishing rules and regulations concerning the contents and duration of the components of DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs, qualifications of instructors, attendance requirements for students, examinations, and program evaluations. Qualified instructors shall be certified for periods of four years each, which may be renewed. Approved DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs shall charge a fee of $82.00 $85.00 for the assessment component and $190.00 $225.00 for the intervention component. An additional fee for required student program materials shall be established by the department in such an amount as is reasonable and necessary to cover the cost of such materials. No DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall be approved unless such clinic agrees in writing to submit reports as required in the rules and regulations of the department and to allow the examination and audit of the books, records, and financial statements of such DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program by the department or its authorized agent. DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs may be operated by any public, private, or governmental entity; provided, however, that, except as otherwise provided in this subsection, in any political subdivision in which a DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program is operated by a private entity, whether for profit or nonprofit, neither the local county board of health nor any other governmental entity shall fund any new programs in that area. Programs currently in existence which are operated by local county boards of health or any other governmental entities shall be authorized to continue operation. New programs may be started in areas where no private DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs have been made available to said community. The Department of Corrections is authorized to operate DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Programs in its facilities where offenders are not authorized to participate in such programs in the community, provided that such programs meet the certification criteria promulgated by the Department of Driver Services. All such programs operated by the Department of Corrections shall be exempt from all fee provisions established in this subsection, specifically including the rebate of any fee for the costs of administration. No DUI Alcohol or Drug Use Risk Reduction Program shall be approved unless such clinic agrees in writing to pay to the state, for the costs of administration, a fee of $22.00 for each offender assessed or each offender attending for points reduction, provided that nothing in this Code section shall be construed so as to allow the department to retain any funds required by the Constitution to be paid into the state treasury; and provided, further, that the department shall comply with all provisions of Part 1 of Article 4 of Chapter 12 of Title 45, the 'Budget Act,' except Code Section 45-12-92, prior to expending any such miscellaneous funds."

SECTION 2.

This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 3.

All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.